Thursday, July 11, 2013

Hey! Listen!

So here's the picture that sparked the need to write a blog post after so many months.


I drew this earlier tonight and it happens to be the first thing I've ever drawn using Photoshop. And can I say, I think I nailed it.

Nope.

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We're going to go way back to Fall semester of 2012 for a moment—I'm in the Fundamentals of Printmaking and absolutely loving it. Up until this point, I had been floundering. Yes, I was motivated to make art but I had no idea what I wanted to focus on long term. I liked painting alright. And drawing will always be my obedient child. But I didn't see either of those becoming a career. 

Then I fell in love with printmaking.

Here I am, blond and loving the late-night printmaking life.

At first I was in denial. I thought it was just another phase. Like my jewelry phase in middle school or my magazine collage phase freshman year of college. It was impractical and improbable. 

Or so I thought.

Once the idea of chasing this crazy passion started whizzing around my head, I panicked and tried to find another way out. I got into photography, took painting more seriously, and started messing around with graphic design, digital painting and logo design. I fell in love with all of them. But nothing could beat out my irrational longing to be a printmaker. I finally caved and decided to be one of those people who went after what they wanted. 

Since that decision, my life has drastically changed. I no longer worry about what I'm doing or where I'm going to end up—I'm motivated and I know what I want. 

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A few weeks ago I went to LA with a guy I barely knew and a group of his friends that I had never really met. It was really good for me to see that city. It made me feel even more motivated to get my BFA and move to a cool city like that. I could feel my fellow artists beckoning! 

After LA, I flew to Seattle to meet up with my family for a much-needed family reunion. And yet again, the city was begging me to stay. 

My mom and I are going to New York City for a week in August. I've never been! So I'm making a long list of art museums and print studios that I'm planning to visit. I can already feel the magnetism. I know I'm going to fall in love with the city. I always do. Being around so many creative people and so many art museums makes my fingers itch. 

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Which brings me back to Link and Navi. Even though I know what I want, I still want everything else. I want to know how to do everything and I want to be good at everything. And after my failed attempt at Photoshop painting, I was once again reminded that I need to focus at least a bit. If I spread my time too thin and become decent at everything, I'll never be amazing at anything. So maybe I don't paint in Photoshop. And maybe my brother submits way cooler t-shirts on our Redbubble than I do. And yeah so maybe I won't ever be paid to photograph anything. 

But I have printmaking and a direction I want to follow. 
Which is the COOLEST FEELING EVER.

Love, 
Lexi



My first art show <3 @MuseMusicCafe




p.s. I also got into bookbinding, which I've decided to keep up. Look for an Etsy shop sometime in the future!